NCJ Number
121544
Journal
Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume: 80 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1989) Pages: 540-556
Date Published
1989
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This study examines whether families, schools, and the judicial system treat male and female adolescents differently when responding to their deviant behavior.
Abstract
The literature of juvenile delinquency indicates two different traditions regarding the differential treatment of juveniles by sex. Some researchers believe that females are treated more leniently than males by the criminal justice system, while others argue that the police and courts treat females more harshly than they do males. To assess these and other research theories related to adolescent sanctions by sex roles, this study examined a sample of neighborhood youths residing at home within a large North Central Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area and data obtained from studying populations at three State male juvenile institutions and all of the females incarcerated in the State's only female juvenile institution. Data were obtained through personal interviews of 236 neighborhood youth and 236 incarcerated youth. The youths were asked whether their parents and schools applied different sanctions to male and female deviant behavior. Judicial sanctions were also studied. The study found that social and demographic characteristics affect the ways male and female adolescents are sanctioned at home and at school. However, there was no evidence that the judicial system applied more lenient or more strict sanctions to females than to males. Judicial sanctions appear to operate independently of age, sex, and race. Appendixes categorize family, school, and legal offenses examined. 38 footnotes.